Abstract:
Automatic signature verification is a well-established and an active area for research with numerous applications such as bank check verification, ATM access, etc. Most off-Line signature verification systems depend on pixels intensity in feature extraction process which is sensitive to noise and any scale or rotation process on signature image. This paper proposes an off-line handwritten signature recognition system using Discrete Wavelet Transform as feature extraction technique to extract wavelet energy values from signature image without any dependency of image pixels intensity. Since Discrete Wavelet Transform suffers from down-sample process, Wavelet Neural Network is used as a classifier to solve this problem. A comparative study will be illustrated between the proposed combination system and pervious off-line handwritten signature recognition systems. Conclusions will be appeared and future work is proposed.

Abstract:
Transit-time flow technology is considered as a quality of care in bypass surgery especially in off pump revascularization. Transit time flow measurement is a real time, direct, easy and handy tool for assessment quality of anastomosis and graft blood flow.

Abstract:
An approach for motion control and observation of robotic manipulators is presented in this article. It links the design of a joint acceleration controller to the design of a variable structure observer including Luenberger-like observation term. Both the joint acceleration controller and the observer that are introduced in this paper are very likely to use either large or moderate or small gains. Thus the time delay issue of the output measurements is highly taken into consideration in the design of the intended observers. The observer design is therefore based on two different generalized forms of nonlinear systems with/without undelayed outputs. A study to investigate the effects of the gains of the joint acceleration controller on the performance capabilities of the observer is introduced. Also, the effects of the time delay factor on the operation of both the controller and the observer and their own interaction are studied. Then a chain observer design is presented for circumventing the time delay effects. The time delay constant is found to be of vital importance to the robot performance capabilities. Moreover, the results show that the gains of the joint acceleration controller are of significant influence on the operation of the proposed observers.

Background and Purpose: The relapsed
low grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (LG-NHL) is currentlyincurable disease and the optimal
treatment regimen has not determined yet. Low dose total body irradiation
(LTBI) provides an alternative mechanism of action against cancer cells rather
than direct cell kill. The mode of action of LTBI is immune-modulatory effect,
induction of apoptosis andhypersensitivity
to low radiation doses. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effect of LTBI
on relapsedLG-NHL and reporting
our experience at National Cancer Institute, Cairo (NCI, Cairo). Material and
Methods: Fifty eight patients with relapsed LG-NHL and received LTBI studied
retrospectively.LTBI dose was
1.6 Gy/8 fractions divided on 2 courses; each course 4 fractions treated over 4
days with 2 weeks rest between the 2 courses. Results: The median age is 54
years; 65% of the patients are men. Forty (69%) patients had performance status
of 2 or more. Twenty seven patients were stage II/III and 31 patients (53%) had
stage IV disease. Twenty six (45%) patients had bulky disease more than 10 cm
and 22 (38%) patients had B symptoms at the time of relapse. Theextranodal disease was present in 17
patients (29%) and 78% of the patients received>3 regimens of chemotherapy
before referral to LTBI. Twenty three patients received IFRT (mean dose 32 ± 4
Gy) to initially bulky sites after LTBI. Fourteen patients (24%) achieved
complete remission (CR) while 45%, 21% and 10% had partial remission (PR),
stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD) respectively. The median PFS
duration was 14 months and the median OS durationwas 39 months. Stage VI,>3 regimen of chemotherapy
and bad response to LTBI (SD) affectedprogression
duration adversely (0.03, 0.05 and 0.01 respectively). The response to LTBI is
the only factor affected the OS duration significantly. The 3-year PFS was 19%
± 9%, and 3-year OS was 45% ± 8%. Stage IV was the only factor affected the
3-year PFS significantly with p value 0.03. The hematological toxicity was the
main side effect of LTBI. Eleven patients developed G3/4 anemia while 8
patients only developed G3/4 thrombocytopenia and 13 patients developed G3/4
leucopenia. Conclusion: The use of LTBI in patients with relapsed low

Abstract:
The induced temperature, displacement, and stress fields in an infinite nonhomogeneous elastic medium having a spherical cavity are obtained in the context dual-phase-lag model. The surface of the cavity is stress free and is subjected to a thermal shock. The material is elastic and has an in¬homogeneity in the radial direction. The type of non homogeneity is such that the elastic constants, thermal conductivity and density are propor¬tional to the nth power of the radial distance. The solutions are obtained analytically employing the Laplace transform technique. The numerical inversion of the transforms is carried out using Fourier series expansions. The stresses, temperature and displacement are computed and presented graphically. A comparison of the results for different theories is presented.

Abstract:
A century old methodology for deriving statistical distribution using approximate Stirling’s formulation of the factorial becomes questionable. By avoiding the use of exaggerated approximations, a new picture of the energy distribution of fermions and bosons are presented. Energy distribution among fermions (or bosons) in systems with finite degeneracy are found to be degeneracy dependent. The presented point of view explains, successfully, presence of degeneracy pressure in ultra-cooled Fermi gas and predicts the minimum accessible temperature for finite degeneracy fermions system.

Abstract:
Typically, dual-frequency geodetic grade GNSS
receivers are utilized for positioning applications that require high accuracy.
Single-frequency high grade receivers can be used to minimize the expenses of
such dual-frequency receivers. However, user has to consider the resultant
positioning accuracy. Since the evolution of low-cost single-frequency (LCSF)
receivers is typically cheaper than single-frequency high grade
receivers, it is possible to obtain comparable positioning accuracy if the
corresponding observables are accurately modelled. In this paper, two LCSF GPS
receivers are used to form short baseline. Raw GPS measurements are recorded
for several consecutive days. The collected data are used
to develop the stochastic model of GPS observables from such receivers.
Different functions are tested to determine the best fitting model which is
found to be 3 parameters exponential decay function. The new developed model is
used to process different data sets and the results are compared against the
traditional model. Both results from the newly developed and the traditional
models are compared with the reference solution obtained from dual-frequency
receiver. It is shown that the newly developed model improves the root-mean-square of the estimated horizontal coordinates by about 10% and
improves the root-mean-square of the up component by about 39%.

Abstract:
Real-time satellite orbit
and clock corrections obtained from the broadcast ephemerides can be improved
using IGS real-time service (RTS) products. Recent
research showed that applying such corrections for broadcast ephemerides can significantly improve the RMS of the
estimated coordinates.However, unintentional streaming interruption may
happen for many reasons such as software or hardware failure. Streaming
interruption, if happened, will cause sudden
degradation of the obtained solution if only the broadcast ephemerides
are used. A better solution can be obtained in real-time if the predicted part
of the ultra-rapid products is used. In this paper, Harmonic analysis technique
is used to predict the IGS RTS corrections using historical broadcasted data.
It is shown that using the predicted clock corrections improves the RMS of the
estimated coordinates by about 72%, 58%, and 72% in latitude, longitude, and
height directions, respectively and reduces the 2D and 3D errors by about 80%
compared with the predicted part of the IGS ultra-rapid clock corrections.

Abstract:
The subtrochanteric region has certain anatomical and biomechanical features that can make fractures in this region difficult for the treating surgeon. The preferred type of device is a matter of debate. Increased understanding of mechanical characteristics of the dynamic hip screw (DHS) has reduced the incidence of complications. Our hypothesis is based on the technical optimization of the DHS application. We prospectively studied 37 patients with subtrochanteric fractures with a mean age of 42.9 years. We utilized a two-stage protocol: initially, conversion of the comminuted fractures into two part fractures; then application of the implant with a technique that allowed dynamization of the DHS. Clinical and radiographic data were used to assess the outcome at 12 months. Fracture healing was obtained for all cases in a mean time of 11.64 weeks. One patient had 1.5 cm shortening of the injured limb. No implant failure was reported. All patients resumed pre-injury activities of daily living. It was concluded that the patients who were treated with the technical optimization of the DHS application achieved a close-to-normal anatomy following surgery and maintained this state throughout the follow-up period.